Drainpipe-cleaning composition



Patented Dec. 4, 1928.

, 1,693,618 PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD A. TAYLOR, OF CLEVELA'ND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE GRASSELLICHEMICAL COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

DRAINPIPE-CLEANING- COMPOSITION. A

No Drawing.

This invention relates generally to compositions of the type which inuse liberate a gas, and more particularly to compositions known asdrain-pipe cleaners containing a cleansing or detergent agent such ascaustic soda and a gas-liberating agent such as aluminum powder.

Drain-pipe cleaners of the type referred to in use liberate malodorousand irritating I have found that if the cleaning composition during theliberation of the gas is blanketed with a foam or froth so that the gasbefore passing into the atmosphere is scrubbed F by the foam or froth,the irritating and malodorous character of the evolved gas iseliminated.

My invention, therefore, resides generally in scrubbing gases evolvedfrom liquids by means of foam or froth, and more particularly in theprovision of gas-generating compositions comprising a foaming orfrothing agent.

The invention has, as is apparent, a wide range of use, being applicablegenerally in cases in which gases are liberated from caus tic.irritating, malodorous or similar liquids, but will be described andillustrated hereinafter by reference tocompositions of the.

type of the so-called drain-pipe cleaners to which the invention isparticularly appli-- cable, it being understood'that the'invention isnot limited thereto, excepting as is indicated in the appended claims.

A typical drain-pipe cleaner is one containing a large proportion ofcaustic soda, say 98%, a small amount of metal powder, such as aluminumpowder, or an aluminum-zinc alloy powder, say to 1%%, with or withoutcoloring material, perfuming material, etc. In use the composition isintroduced with Water into the drain-pipe or opening to be cleansed,where the caustic soda acts upon the foreign material in the pipe,dissolving and loosening it and at the same timereacts with the aluminumpowder, liberating hy- Application filed April 27, 1925. Serial No.26,294.

The hydrogen gas evolved is of course inflammable and when mixed withair gives an explosive mixture, and it has been proposed to add anoxidizing agent to compositions of the type referred to, presumably forthe purpose of oxidizing the hydrogen formed by the interaction of thecaustic alkali and the metal powder and preventing its evolution.

The object of the present invention is not to prevent the evolution ofgas by the cleaning composition, this being regarded as an essential orat least a highly important feature of such compositions, but to renderthe eyplved gas non-irritating and unobjectiona le. 1

g In accordance with my invention there is added to the cleaningcomposition a foaming or frothing agent. There are a great variety ofmaterials suitable for this purpose, for example goulac (sulfite'cellulose pulp waste), glue, mucilage and Romanco stucco retarder.

(a material prepared from hoofs and other similar stock-yard wastematerial and commonly used as a retardr in plaster of Paris mixtures).Such materials are used in quantity suflicient, for example about 1% ofthe cleaning composition, to produce aheavy blanket of foam or froth ontop of the mixv ture or solution of the cleaning composition with Water.

The resulting composition in use' evolves hydrogen or other gas, asdescribed above,

' and due. ,to the presence in the composition of the foaming orfrothing agent develops a blanket of foam or froth, through which thegas must pass before it is liberated into the atmosphere. This blanketof'foam serves to scrub the gas and to thereby remove from it anynon-gaseous, particles, such as spray of caustic soda solution, so thata clean, practically odorless and non-irritating gas is evolved. t

The improved compositions of my invention therefore comprise asessential ingredients a cleansing agent, such as caustic soda, a

material such as metal powder, which in the' use of the compositiongenerates a gas, and

a foamor froth-producing agent. It is conceivable that the cleansingagent and the gasliberating agent may be one and the same material, andit is possible that the cleansing, gas-generating and foam-producingproperties may be embodied in a single material, and consequently itwill be understood that the invention embraces compositions having thethree properties referred to, regardless of whether these properties areconferred by three different materials or by materials possessingcombinations of the properties.

I claim 1. A drain-pipe cleaning composition comdrogen, and afoam-producing organic eolloid.

2. A drain-pipe cleaning composition comprising caustic alkali, finelydivided aluminum and goulac.

3. A drain-pipe cleaning composition comprising caustic soda not lessthan about 95%, aluminum powder not over about 2% and goulac about 1%,the parts being by Weight.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature.

EDWARD A. TAYLOR.

